Slip pallet lifter

ABSTRACT

A pair of jaws extend laterally at the front of the lifter and are manually closable to grip the edge of a slip pallet. The lifter is then tilted about supporting wheels close to the jaws to lift one edge of the pallet and load and arms on the lifter are swung forwardly to position blocks under the load. The blocks are releasably held by the arms so the load can be lowered onto the blocks and the lifter withdrawn to leave one edge of the slip pallet and load elevated for reception of the fingers of a forklift truck.

nited States Patent fiarpenter, Jr.

[4;] Feb. 8, 1972 [54] SLIP PALLET LIFTER 21 Appl. No.: 24,741

[52] U.S.Cl. .214]! B, 294/19 R, 254/13], 214/377 [51] Int. Cl ..B62b1/06 [58] Field ofSearch ..2l4/377, 378, 379, 380, 381, 214/382, 383, lB; 254/131; 294/13, 16, 104, l9 R [56] References Cited UNITED STATESPATENTS 1,208,510 12/1916 Deane ..294/l3 Chicoine et al ..2l4/380Flanagan ..2 l4/38l Primary ExaminerAlbert J. Makay Attorney-Bacon &Thomas [57] ABSTRACT A pair of jaws extend laterally at he front of thelifter and are manually closable to grip the edge of m 9H) pallet. Thelifter is then tilted about supporting whet dose to the jaws to lift oneedge of the pallet and load and arms on the lifter are swung forwardlyto position blocks under the load. The blocks are releasably held by thearms so the load can be lowered onto the blocks and the lifter withdrawnto leave one edge of the slip pallet and load elevated for reception ofthe fingers of a forklift truck.

6claims,9nramn um PATENIEB'FEB 81972 3.640.405 sum 1 or 3 Hap/er MGHFPENTER, (fa

ATTORNEYS PATENTEU FEB 8 I972 SHEET 2 OF 3 H/IRRY M I3 Y dim/aPATENTED'FEB 81972 SHEET 3 OF 3 A T TOR NE YS' SLIP PALLET LIFTERBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to load-liftingdevices and particularly to devices for lifting an edge of a slip palleton which a load is positioned and placing supporting blocks thereunder.

The shipping and handling of certain types of freight, such as separatecrates, cases of product, and the like, has always presented problemssince it is uneconomical to load and unload individual cases and it ismore desirable to handle a plurality of articles as a unit. It has beencommon practice to provide wooden pallets on which a stack of articlesis placed and the pallet can then be loaded onto and unloaded fromfreight cars, trucks or the like by means of conventional forklifttrucks. A common form of pallet for this purpose comprises a woodenplatform having beams or legs extending across the bottom to hold theplatform elevated above a supporting surface and provide a clearancespace below the platform for the fingers of forklift trucks. Suchpallets, however, are quite expensive and occupy considerable space in afreight car or other shipping container. In addition, they are quiteheavy, adding to the transportation costs and in view of their expense,it is always desirable to return them to the point of origin. This alsoinvolves the use of considerable space, labor and shipping charges.

It has also been proposed to employ what is known in the trade as slippallets to support stacks of freight articles. This type of palletconsists of a large sheet of heavy, tough card board, or similarmaterial, placed directly on the floor and on which stacks of crates,cases, or the like are placed. In some instances, it is possible to gripa projecting edge of the slip pallet, with appropriate equipment, andslide the same off the floor of the container, but that method ofhandling has not proven satisfactory. Another manner of handling hasbeen to forcibly push the fingers of a forklift truck under such slippallets and the load thereon whereupon the load and pallet can be liftedand transported. However, many types of freight articles, such as casesof canned goods, cases of glass jars or the like, do not lend themselvesto such handling since the forcible pushing of the truck fingers underthe pallet frequently damages the bottom cases and the contents thereof.

Such slip pallets, however, are very economical since their first costis low, they are expendable, and in any event, can be stacked and/orrolled for storage or return shipment in a very small space.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to apparatus forrendering the use of slip pallets with relatively fragile shipmentseconomically practical. The invention comprises generally a lever systemcomprising a handle having a roller fulcrum at one end, engageable witha floor, and forwardly of which a lower jaw is rigidly fixed to thehandle. An upper jaw is lever actuated whereby the lower jaw may beslipped under the projecting edge of a slip pallet, the upper jaw thenclosed thereon to firmly grip the pallet edge and the device then tiltedaround the roller fulcrum to lift the gripped edge of the palletupwardly along with the load thereon. Further means on the devicepositions supporting blocks under the lifted edge of the pallet and loadwhereupon the lifting device is withdrawn, leaving an edge of the loadresting on the blocks spaced from the floor sufficiently to permit easyentry of the fingers of a forklift truck.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. l is a top plan view of apresently preferred form of the invention with certain movable partsshown in different positions;

FIG. 2 is a side clevational view of the apparatus of FIG. ll;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary bottom view, on an enlarged scale, of the deviceof FIG. I;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken along the line 44 ofFIG. I;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 55 of FIG. 4; and

FIGS. 6 through 9 are schematic views illustrating a sequence of stepsin the operation of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In the illustrated embodiments ofthe invention, an elongated handle member 2 is formed of rigid metaltubing or the like and comprises a tubular portion 3 rigidly secured, atits forward end, to the vertical flange 4 of a transversely extendingL-shaped lower jaw 6. The jaw 6 has a horizontal lower flange 8. The jaw6 is preferably welded to the forward end of the handle tube 3 at suchan angle that the lower flange 8 rests flat on a floor 10 when thehandle 2 extends upwardly and rearwardly at about the angle illustratedin FIGS. 2 and 4. Welded to the flange 4 and extending rearwardlytherefrom are pairs of brackets 12 between which suitable wheels orrollers 14 are journaled. It is to be understood that, instead of a pairof rollers 14, a continuous elongated roller may be employed. As isevident from FIGS. 2 and 4, the bottom surface of the wheels 14 like insubstantially the same plane as the bottom surface of flange 8 of jaw 6so that when that flange rests squarely on the floor 10, the wheels 14also engage the floor.

Also welded to the rear edge of the lower jaw 6 is a reinforcing plate'16 (see FIG. I) to which a pair of upstanding brackets 18 is welded. Anarm 20 fixed to an elongated bearing tube 19 is pivotally mountedbetween the brackets 18 on a suitable pivot pin 22 and is preferablyformed to the general shape shown in FIG. 4 having a downwardlyextending forward portion 24 to which a transverse plate or upper jaw 26is welded. Suitable reinforcing rods 28 are also welded to the jaw 26and arm 20.

A further bracket structure 30 is rigidly fixed on the tube 3 of handle2 and provides a pair of upstanding ears between which a lever 32 ispivoted on a suitable pivot pin 34. The forward end of the lever 32 ispivotally joined to the arm 20 by a pivot pin 36 and the lever 32extends rearwardly where it terminates in a rigid cross-handle 38.Actually, the lever 32 comprises a rear tube portion 40 and a pair ofside channel members 42, welded thereto, arranged to embrace the rearend of the arm 20. The pivot pin 36 is fixed in the channel members 42and engages an elongated slot 44 in the arm 20.

From the structure thus far described it is apparent that the apparatusmay be positioned in the attitude shown in FIG. 2, then rolled forwardlyto project the flange 8 under an edge of a slip pallet whereupon thehandle 2 may be lightly held in that position, by holding its gripportion 46, and the lever 32 may be swung downwardly about the pivot 34.When this occurs the arm 20 will be swung counterclockwise, as seen inFIGS. 2 and 4 and the upper jaw 26 will be forcibly moved downwardly tothe flange 8 (see FIG. 7) to rigidly grip the slip pallet between thejaws 8 and 26. The user then continues downward pressure on the handle38 and the entire apparatus will tilt clockwise about the axis of therollers 14, the rollers serving as a fulcrum and the gripped edge of theslip pallet and the load thereon will be lifted a substantial distanceabove the floor (see FIG. 8). Also welded to the handle tube, at aboutthe region of the brackets 40, is a downwardly extending transverseplate 48 having an opening 50 therethrough through which an actuatingrod 56 extends loosely. The plate 48 is so dimensioned as to function asa stop means engageable with the floor It) to limit tilting movement ofthe apparatus about the fulcrum 14 to about the position illustrated inFIG. 8

Also mounted on the handle tube 3 is a guide member 52 (FIG. 4) and aguide member 54 (FIG. 2) is fixed to the rear portion 57 of handle 2 andthrough which the actuating rod 56 slidably extends. At its rear end theactuating rod 56 is provided with a transverse handle 58 and a tensionspring 60 is secured at one end 62 to the actuating rod 56 and securedat its other end 54 (FIG. 4) to the guide member 52. The spring 60 thusurges the actuating rod 56 to move forwardly relative to handle 2. Therear portion 57 of handle 2 extends loosely into tube 3 and is heldtherein by setscrew 59 whereby the length of the handle 2 and tension inspring 60 may be adjusted.

Referring now to FIG. 3, the forward end of the actuating rod 56 hassecured thereto a transverse head member 66 welded thereto andstrengthened by a reinforcing or gusset plate 68, also welded to head 66and rod 56. The ends of the head 66 are turned upwardly and define slidepins 70 slidably engaging in elongated slots 72 in positioning arms 74.The arms 74 are journaled about pivots 76 on brackets 78, also welded tothe brackets 12 on which the rollers 14 are mounted. The positioningarms 74 normally extend rearwardly substantially parallel to the handle2, due to the retracting action of spring 60, as shown in FIG. 3, and attheir rearward ends are provided with rectangular seat devices 80rigidly fixed thereto and adapted to receive and engage support blocks82 (see FIG. 1). Adjustable spring fingers 84 are carried by the rearends of the arms 74 and arranged to bear against at least one surface ofthe blocks 82 to releasably and frictionally hold those blocks on theseat 80, as illustrated in FIG. I. The spring fingers 84 are madeadjustable to enable blocks 82 of different dimensions to be employed.Preferably, the blocks 82 are wooden blocks, somewhat pointed at theirouter ends for ease of insertion under a slip pallet, as will bedescribed.

When an edge of a slip pallet and the load thereon have been raised tothe position shown in FIG. 8, the operator may then, while holding theapparatus in that position, pull rearwardly on the handle 53 ofactuating rod 56, causing the head 66 to move rearwardly, as seen inFIG. 3. When this occurs the slide pins 70 acting in slots 72 cause thearms 74 to swing outwardly to project the blocks 82 thereon outwardlyand forwardly to the positions shown in dotted line in FIG. 1. It is tobe noted that the seats 80 and blocks 82 are thus caused to moveforwardly, generally parallel to the floor 10, outwardly of the ends ofthe transversely elongated jaws 8 and 26 and forwardly thereof to aposition under the lifted load. A schematic side elevation of thiscondition is illustrated in FIG. 9. When the parts have reached thatposition, the operator may merely raise the handle 2 and lever 32 tothus lower the gripped pallet edge and load onto the blocks 82 while thesame are held in the forward position illustrated. When the weight ofthe pallet and load are firmly on the blocks 82, the lever 32 is liftedto a higher elevation, thus releasing thejaws 8 and 26 whereupon theapparatus may be rolled rearwardly. Due to the frictional grip betweenspring fingers 84 and blocks 32 the latter are held by the weight of theload while the seats 80 and spring fingers 84 pull rearwardly awaytherefrom, leaving the load and pallet elevated a distance sufficient topermit entry of the forklift truck fingers thereunder, for furthermanipulation or movement of the load.

As also illustrated in the drawings, particularly FIGS. 1 and 3, thearms 74 comprise an inner portion 90, having the slots 72 therein andwhich inner portions are journaled on the pivot pins 76. The outerportions 92 of the arms 84 are pivotally joined to the inner portions 90on transverse pivots 94. This arrangement permits substantial floatingmovement of the seats 80 and blocks 82 while being moved from the fullline position of FIG. 1 to the dotted line. This permits the blocks 82to substantially slide along the floor l and ride over any minorirregularities thereon and further permits lifting the handle 2 from theposition of FIG. 9 to the position of FIG. 6

while the positioning arms 74 are in their forward position.

In the schematic illustrations of FIGS. 6 through 9, numeral designatesthe slip pallet referred to herein and NH identifies crates, cases, orthe like of articles of freight resting on the pallet 100.

While a single specific embodiment of the invention is shown anddescribed herein, the same is merely illustrative of the principlesinvolved and obviously other modifications may be resorted to.

What is claimed is:

l. A lifter device comprising: an elongated handle; roller means on saidhandle adjacent but spaced rearwardly from the forward end thereof andadapted to rest on a supporting surface; a transversely extendingplaniform lower jaw fixed to said forward end of said handle and beingsubstantially tangent to the periphery of said roller means; atransversely extending upperjaw movably mounted on said handle formovement toward and from said lower jaw; actuating means extending tothe rear end of said handle for forcibly moving said upper jaw towardsaid lower jaw whereby said lower jaw may be positioned under an edge ofa slip pallet having a load thereon, said actuating means may beoperated to clamp said edge between said jaws and said device may betilted about said roller means to lift said edge and the load forpositioning supporting means thereunder; and positioning means movablymounted on said device for positioning support blocks under said liftededge of said load.

2. A lifter device as defined in claim 1 wherein said upper jaw is on anarm pivotally mounted on said handle and having a portion extendingtoward said rear end; said actuating means comprising a lever overlyingsaid handle and being pivoted thereto adjacent but rearwardly of theforward end of said lever, the forward end of said lever engaging therear end of said arm whereby downward pressure on the rear portion ofsaid lever serves to close said jaws on said slip pallet, hold the sameclamped between said jaws and tilt said device about said fulcrum meansto lift said load.

3. A lifter device as defined in claim 1 wherein said positioning meanshas grippers thereon for releasably holding said sup port blocks; saidgrippers being movably mounted on said handle for forward movement topositions wherein support blocks carried thereby extend forwardly ofsaid lower jaw and beneath said edge of said slip pallet and the loadthereon.

4. A lifting device as defined in claim 3 wherein said grippers comprisespring fingers adapted to frictionally engage and hold support blockswhereby, after positioning said support blocks under said pallet andload said jaws may be released and said lever and handle swung upwardlyto lower said load onto said support blocks and permitting rearwardwithdrawal of said grippers, leaving said support blocks under saidload.

5. A lifting device as defined in claim 3 wherein said positioning meansinclude a pair of arms pivotally mounted on said device for laterallyoutward and forward swinging movement from respectively opposite sidesof said handle, said grippers being mounted at the outer ends of saidarms, said arms being of a length to swing said grippers forwardlyoutwardly of the ends of saidjaws.

6. A lifting device as defined in claim 5 wherein each arm of said paircomprises a first portion pivotally mounted on said device about a firstaxis and an outer portion pivoted to said first portion on a secondpivot axis transverse to said first axis.

1. A lifter device comprising: an elongated handle; roller means on saidhandle adjacent but spaced rearwardly from the forward end thereof andadapted to rest on a supporting surface; a transversely extendingplaniform lower jaw fixed to said forward end of said handle and beingsubstantially tangent to the periphery of said roller means; atransversely extending upper jaw movably mounted on said handle formovement toward and from said lower jaw; actuating means extending tothe rear end of said handle for forcibly moving said upper jaw towardsaid lower jaw whereby said lower jaw may be positioned under an edge ofa slip pallet having a load thereon, said actuating means may beoperated to clamp said edge between said jaws and said device may betilted about said roller means to lift said edge and the load forpositioning supporting means thereunder; and positioning means movablymounted on said device for positioning support blocks under said liftededge of said load.
 2. A lifter device as defined in claim 1 wherein saidupper jaw is on an arm pivotally mounted on said handle and having aportion extending toward said rear end; said actuating means comprisinga lever overlying said handle and being pivoted thereto adjacent butrearwardly of the forward end of said lever, the forward end of saidlever engaging the rear end of said arm whereby downward pressure on therear portion of said lever serves to close said jaws on said slippallet, hold the same clamped between said jaws and tilt said deviceabout said fulcrum means to lift said load.
 3. A lifter device asdefined in claim 1 wherein said positioning means has grippers thereonfor releasably holding said support blocks; said grippers being movablymounted on said handle for forward movement to positions wherein supportblocks carried thereby extend forwardly of said lower jaw and beneathsaid edge of said slip pallet and the load thereon.
 4. A lifting deviceas defined in claim 3 wherein said grippers comprise spring fingersadapted to frictionally engage and hold support blocks whereby, afterpositioning said support blocks under said pallet and load said jaws maybe released and said lever and handle swung upwardly to lower said loadonto said support blocks and permitting rearward withdrawal of saidgrippers, leaving said support blocks under said load.
 5. A liftingdevice as defined in claim 3 wherein said positioning means include apair of arms pivotally mounted on said device for laterally outward andforward swinging movement from respectively opposite sides of saidhandle, said grippers being mounted at the outer ends of said arMs, saidarms being of a length to swing said grippers forwardly outwardly of theends of said jaws.
 6. A lifting device as defined in claim 5 whereineach arm of said pair comprises a first portion pivotally mounted onsaid device about a first axis and an outer portion pivoted to saidfirst portion on a second pivot axis transverse to said first axis.